“One of the best things that can happen to a designer is the opportunity to work with a company that has a history and a context. I worked with the fifth generation of the Thonet family, and we had the most interesting relationship. Their n°14 – the iconic bentwood chair which has been in production since 1859 – had become something of an artwork, far removed from its mass-market origins. As soon as Masaaki Kanai, CEO of Muji, recognized much of Muji’s ethos and philosophy in the n°14 design, he asked me to revist it: a highly dangerous undertaking that just so happened to turn out well.” JI